Darkest Hour

'No,' gasped the man. 'We were taken.' He groaned again and grimaced in pain.

'Easy, mate,' said Sykes. 'Easy.'

'What do you mean?' asked Tanner.

'We were all asleep. Some men came in, woke us up and ordered us to get dressed. They led us out to the truck. Then they hit us. The next thing I know the truck has been driven into the tree and I wake up. I knew I had to get out. Then the explosion.' He put his hand to his eyes. 'I don't know why this happened. I don't know what they wanted with us.'

'Did you see these men?'

'It was dark. Whenever they shone their torches they did so in our faces so we could not see them. But they were soldiers. British soldiers.'

Tanner stood up, walked a few steps away from the prostrate Torwinski, then pushed back his helmet and wiped his brow. 'Bloody hell, Stan. This is not good. Not good at all.'

'What I'd like to know, Sarge, is what the hell a fuel bowser was doing on this road anyway. If you want to hide nicked fuel, why drive towards the coast where there's bound to be roadblocks?'

'God knows. Looks like someone's trying to stitch these lads up, though.'

Sykes stepped away onto the road. 'You believe his yarn, then?'

'Don't you?'

'I dunno, Sarge.'

'He's a bloody good liar if he isn't telling the truth.'

'Christ, Sarge, you know what that means?'

'Yes, Stan. Those Poles were murdered.'

Chapter 3

Tanner stood over Torwinski as he waited for Lieutenant Peploe to return. Even from seventy yards away the flames of the bowser cast a low orange glow. He pulled out a cigarette and offered one to the Pole but he had his hands over his eyes. Tanner passed the packet to Sykes and struck a match. Blood was already seeping through the bandages on Torwinski's head, Tanner noticed, but the fellow seemed more tormented by grief than by his physical injuries. There appeared to be no broken bones, though; he'd been lucky.

For a short while, Tanner and Sykes stood in silence. It occurred to Tanner that it had been a mistake to suggest that Torwinski should see the medical officer. The man needed to be taken somewhere out of harm's way - a place where his would-be murderers couldn't make a further attempt on his life. Lieutenant Peploe would be back soon, but he had only known the officer half a day and was uncertain how much he should say about his suspicions.

A thought struck him. He told Sykes to wait with Torwinski, then clambered back through the fence and hurried towards the still burning bowser. He could see the charred corpses in the cab and stepped past the tree so that he could see more clearly their precise position. The flames were dying down but as Tanner walked around the bowser he felt the heat on his cheeks and ears. He studied the blackened bodies; it was as he had suspected. He headed back to the road.

'Listen, Stan,' said Tanner, as he rejoined Sykes, 'we don't both need to wait with him, and that second roadblock needs setting up. Sort it out, will you?'

'Right away,' Sykes replied. 'But, Sarge, we need to get him somewhere safe.' He hurried off to fetch some men.

A few moments later, Tanner heard running footsteps and Peploe appeared. Rather breathlessly he said, 'The MO and fire-wagons are on their way, and so are the RAFP. Jesus, I’m exhausted. What about that second roadblock?'

'Corporal Sykes is organizing the men now, sir.'

Peploe looked down at Torwinski. 'How is he?'

'He should be in hospital, sir.'

'Really? I thought he'd just cut his head.' He squatted beside Torwinski. 'Are you hurt anywhere else?'

'No,' mumbled Torwinski. 'I don't think so. I just want to get the bastards who did this.' He pushed himself up.

'Steady, mate,' said Tanner.

'What are you talking about?' Peploe asked Torwinski. 'Get who?'

'Sir,' Tanner interrupted, 'can I have a word?'

Peploe stood up. 'What the bloody hell's going on, Tanner?'

'Sir, this man says he and the other two in the truck were forcibly taken from their hut, marched to the bowser and knocked unconscious. He says he doesn't know how they got here.'

'Sounds a bit far-fetched, doesn't it?'

'Maybe, sir. But if these men did steal the bowser, what are they doing here by the coast? According to my map, this road leads to Kingsgate only. It's hardly the place to shift stolen fuel, is it? And how would they know where to sell it anyway? They've only been here a couple of weeks.' He took a pace away, then added, 'What bothers me, sir, is that if he's telling the truth, the Poles've been framed to look like the thieves.'

Peploe rubbed his hands over his face. 'And if so, Sergeant, this man's life is presumably still in danger. Christ, what a mess.'

'Yes, sir.'

'But in hospital he might be safer?'

Tanner nodded.

Peploe sighed. 'And what do you think?'

'Something makes me believe him, sir.'

'Who else could have done this?'

'Any of the troops here.'

'How, for God's sake?'

'Must have jumped out of the cab. I had a look at the wreckage, sir. Neither of the two dead men was driving.'

Peploe scratched the back of his head, then pulled a slim hip-flask from his battle-blouse, unscrewed the top and offered it to Tanner. 'Slug of Scotch, Sergeant?'

'Not for me, thank you, sir.'

'Well, don't mind me, Sergeant. I find it helps me to think straight.' He took a couple of sips, then put the flask back. 'All right, Tanner. I'm going to stay with this man. You get one of the others to bring the truck down and I'll make sure he gets to hospital in Ramsgate. But for the time being don't breathe another word about this to anyone. The last thing we want is rumour and wild speculation flying around - and we should be careful not to endanger this man's life further. Understood? I'll speak to Captain Barclay about it later.'

'Yes, sir. What about the Snowdrops, sir?'

'Snowdrops?' Lieutenant Peploe looked confused.

'The RAF Police, sir. What should we say to them? There might be other police as well.'

'Damn - I hadn't thought of that. You must, of course, tell the police, but no one else. And in the meantime let's make sure both these roadblocks are properly manned. We don't want any more tearaway lorries ploughing through them.'

As Tanner had predicted, by the time the fire-wagon had arrived, the flames around the bowser had all but died out. The RAFP arrived, took a few statements, including one from Fanner, placed a cordon around the scene and left one of their men on guard. Torwinski had already been taken to hospital by Lieutenant Peploe so no one else was any the wiser - for now, at any rate.

With a second roadblock set up under the command of Sykes, Tanner walked back to the first where McAllister, Bell and a number of the new men were positioned across the road.

There were, of course, rumours and wild speculation aplenty among the men about what had happened. Peploe could do nothing about that, although no one doubted that the Polish men in the bowser had been the fuel thieves. Instead, debate raged over what they had been doing there and how they had come to crash. Tanner said nothing, listening to their theories without comment and shrugging in response to their questions. He would have found it amusing had it not been for his growing unease.